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Alien: Romulus (2024)
Best movie of the year
This writer/director seems awesome. The writing is excellent. I think the writing is salient for any movie. Without great writing, you get fluffy crap that nobody really cares about. So when a movie is excellent, the writing is also excellent.
The directing is excellent. Everything about this movie is superb.
All the elements of a great story/movie are there. There's excellent characters I care about. I even care about the Android character. Great storytelling- so suspenseful and tense. So exciting. The excitement never lets up. Just amazing.
I would rank this Alien movie up there with Alien and Aliens.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Among the best Marvel movies
I've seen every Marvel movie, including the crappy "The Marvels" and "Black Panther 2".
I think this Deadpool-Wolverine is among the best Marvel movies. Better than Deadpool 1 and Deadpool 2, all the Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor movies.
Certainly the most witty Marvel movie. Cool, funny, serious, everything rolled into one movie.
Still not going to win Best Picture, but a movie I would watch again every few years.
It's got all the makings of a great movie. Great writing, which salient. Smart. Good story. Great character development for Deadpool and Wolverine. Great directing and acting.
It's a winner.
The Boys (2019)
Among the best series
I've seen 4 seasons of The Boys. I love all 4 seasons. I don't get why some people hate season 4, which I think is excellent.
Some people say S04 is too political. Maybe, but I didn't pay any attention to it - if it is more political.
Some people say S04 is too slow. Maybe it is slower than the previous seasons 1-3, but I think it's not that slow.
Some people say S04 has bad writing. I completely disagree. I think the writing is just as good as any seasons.
I think all 4 seasons have good writing and everything else.
Looking forward to season 05, which is the final season. But hopefully Gen-V will pick up where S05 ends.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
Poor writing and/or editing
1st, I like Kevin Costner. I love Dances With Wolves. I love Yellowstone. Love many of his movies.
But Horizon stinks. I think the writing is horrible. The dialogue and story are horrible and so unfocused. I could be poor editing also. I just feel that the writing must be very bad.
Yellowstone and Dances with Wolves had great writings. Horizon has terrible writing. Costner should have hired a great writer - like Taylor Sheridan or some other great writers because the writing is probably the salient part of any great movie. Why let some guy write the screenplay for this movie series if he has not written anything great?
The Acolyte (2024)
Some good episodes and some bad ones
It's all about the writing and directing, but mostly the writing. The problem with this series, like many series, is that they have a mixture of writers. Some writers are idiots and some are good writers.
Some of these episodes were written by writers who wrote series like House of the Dragon and Watchmen and some other good series. But there are some idiot writers for The Acolyte.
I've seen episodes 1-6. I think if I ignore episode 3, then I would say The Acolyte is pretty good or at least very decent.
But Episode 3 is just stupid - obviously written and directed by idiots.
So if you haven't seen Episode 3 yet, don't see it. Just pretend episode 3 doesn't exist. The rest of the episodes will be just fine without watching episode 3.
What You Wish For (2023)
Surprisingly good
I'll have to keep an eye on more works from writer/director Nicholas Tomnay. I've never heard of him, but after seeing "What You Wish For", I want to see more of his works to see if he is really this good or was this just a fluke.
First, this is a "genre" piece that I normally avoid at all cost. It grosses me out to even think about this subject. So for me to even like this movie says that I must really think very highly of the writing/directing. Same goes for my wife, who hates this type of subject even more than I do.
But the writing is so good. He knows how to keep the suspense. He knows how to make a smart movie. Every character seems to do what I would expected them to do in those situations. Nobody does anything stupid like in the M-Night (or his daughter's) movies. So many movies out there have characters doing the dumbest things in the world. That just shows me how stupid the writer is - as stupid as the characters they write.
But Nicholas Tomnay seems to be a smart writer - his characters do all the things I expected them to do in their situations. This writer/director deserves to write/direct the biggest budget movies out there. I hope he gets the keys.
The Watchers (2024)
Apple doesn't fall far from the tree of stupidity
M Night Shyamalan is an idiot. You can tell that by watching his movies. His movie characters do the dumbest things that nobody in their minds would do - even with half a brain. That's how dumb M Night is. I can't believe studios have allowed him to make anything anymore.
I was hoping that his daughter would have a little more brains. Bu sadly no. She is just as dumb as her dad. No, actually she even dumber than her stupid dad. Writing and directing the dumbest things. Making all her characters do the dumbest things. The story/writing is among the dumbest you will ever see.
So all the Nights can do is copycat other people's works, except make them stupid and annoying as hell. Any positive reviews are obviously fake by their supporters.
So in conclusion, don't waste your money and especially your time on craps that the Night family makes. There are so much better contents available.
Shogun (2024)
This is how to remake a masterpiece
This is textbook how to remake a masterpiece - you make it even better. A lot better.
You keep the story/characters more/less the same. But you improve on the acting, directing, editing, cinematography, picture quality, sound quality. Watching the 2024 version of Shogun is like watching a high-budget movie franchise that doesn't miss any details.
Some idiots think that when you remake something, you have to change it all up and make it "yours". That's because they're idiots and don't know better.
So not only is the remake better, but it also seems more authentic and actually truer to the source.
The 2024 Shogun is a masterpiece collection you want to keep for yourself. You can give the old Shogun collection to your friend or relatives.
American Fiction (2023)
Best Picture of the Year by Far
I've seen every one of the Oscars Best Picture nominees.
Barbie - boring as hell.
Maestro- boring
Holdovers - pretty good, but kind of long and boring
Anatomy of a Fall - not as boring as Barbie, but nothing really good.
Oppenheimer- long and kind of boring
Killers of the Flower Moon - pretty good. I love Native American themes, and I grew up in Oklahoma, so kind of biased.
Poor Things - interesting. Pretty good.
Zone of Interest- also pretty good, but nothing new to me.
And then there's American Fiction. If I were judging by the cover of the book, I wouldn't have even seen this movie. If this movie were not nominated for Best Picture, I would have never seen it. But wow, I was captivated. I was so interested in it. I don't think the topic is new. People being stereotyped. It could be African American, it could be Asian American, it could be Hispanic American, Native American, etc. But the way the story is written and directed and acted and edited, my gosh, this is by far the best movie of the year.
Oh, did I mention this movie is hilarious as hell? But it's not a comedy. It's pure drama. Real life can be more ironic and funnier than comedy and fiction.
Miller's Girl (2024)
Surprisingly good in more than way.
This movie is surprisingly good in more than one way - as a good story in terms of plot/writing and as a great sound effects.
I am very glad I didn't listen to the negative reviews saying that this movie is one of the worst movies because it's just the opposite.
I can usually tell if a movie or TV series is going to be good or bad within the 1st 15 minutes. So within the 1st 15 minutes of this movie, I could tell that it was good.
It's basically about a weird high-school senior who is extremely academically intelligent, but is very obsessive and probably psychotic.
It's very sexual in content, but less sexual on screen. The subject is very uncomfortable and controversial, which is probably why a lot of people hate this movie.
I was very surprised how good the sound effects is for this movie. I didn't expect this from a drama piece. At one point, dialogues came from each speaker. The bass was really good as well - just unexpected. I didn't see it in ATMOS, so I will need to see this movie again in BD for the ATMOS sound effects.
The Descent (2005)
Neil Marshall is an idiot
Neil Marshall must be an idiot.
Why do some people like his writing/directing?
I remember a long time ago when I first saw "Dog Soldiers". I was much younger and probably dumber back then - or maybe I just didn't care much other than watching some mindless nonsense action sci-fi/fantasy. So I when they remastered Dog Soldiers in 4K, I was curious and rewatched the movie. It's true that the new 4K video looks much better than before. But man, when I was rewatching this movie, I noticed all kinds of stupid crap happening in this movie. Like if there are a bunch of FAST werewolves waiting to kill you, why the hell would you climb down the window to distract the VERY FAST werewolves so that your other idiot pal can go into the barn (that likely has werewolves there waiting) to fix a car? Is Neil Marshall an idiot? That's just one example of the kind of stupid crap that only a dumb writer would write and a dumb director would direct.
So then I also watched his other movie "Doomsday" and see all kinds of stupid writing/directing also. People doing stupid crap. Like if some bad guys are trying to KILL you, wouldn't you just kill the , instead of just locking them up in their castle so that their men could free them so they can try to kill you again? There are examples. Stupid writing/directing.
Which leads me to "The Descent". Also characters doing stupid things nobody on earth would do in their god loving minds. So this Neil Marshall must be an idiot and I don't know why anyone would like any of his work - unless they were like me many years ago when I was much younger and didn't care about stupid things and just wanted to see some mindless nonsense action.
The Creator (2023)
Very disappointed
Just saw The Creator in 4K ATMOS.
PQ. 99% of the TV series I watch look much better than this movie. WTF were these idiots thinking using a $4K Sony FX3 camera from Amazon to shoot a movie that supposedly had a $80 million budget. This movie looks like it had a $100K budget. Again, most of the TV series I watch look 100% better than this movie. It's really sad, sad, sad looking. I see some people say this movie "looks great". Maybe if the screen size is less than 100". I have a 150" screen, and this movie looks like crap - like it was shot using a $4K home camera.
SQ. About the only time I hear overhead effects were the intercoms overhead. Besides that, I don't recall much else from overhead. The bass is very solid, but for a SciFi movie with ships flying and explosions overhead, it is disappointing.
Story. It's okay. I give it a 6/10 rating. Nothing special. There are much better AI movies out there.
So overall I was very disappointed in this movie that was shot using a $3900 home video camera from Amazon.
Dark Harvest (2023)
A lot better than the ratings
This movie feels like a Halloween episode on the Twilight Zone. Fictional small town where nobody leaves and nobody enters.
You have 2 options - risking your life by participating in "The Run" or getting killed by some organization. Damn if you do, damn if you don't. You try to leave town (not participating in the run) and they will kill you and your family.
The writer of this movie is the same writer of the new Dungeons and Dragons movie. So if you like his writing in D&D, then you will probably like his writing for this movie. I think this writer is a good writer. I liked his writing in D&D and I liked his writing in this movie.
It has character development. It has plot. It has the setting. It has a climax and resolution.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
The Best X-Men Movie, one of the best movies
I always want to tell people what kind of movies I like first before I give my opinion. I am a middle aged man who went to college for 7 years, obtained 2 college degrees, and works as a pharmacist in a hospital.
Movies I love: Godfather Trilogy, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Edge of Tomorrow, Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar, Inception.
I absolutely enjoyed X-Men Dark Phoenix. I liked the story. I liked the writing. I liked the directing. I love the strong female characters. I love seeing Jean Grey kick butts.
I love the Dolby ATMOS sound effects - one of the best ATMOS soundtracks I've seen. Video also look awesome.
Now, I don't think Dark Phoenix deserves an Academy Award for best picture or anything. But I think it deserves best Sound Effects and Visual Effects. And I think it is a very entertaining movie that I will likely see over and over again.
Gran Turismo (2023)
Best Auto-Racing movie I've ever seen
I was skeptical. I didn't even want to see it originally. I thought it was just another dumb movie based on a video game. I am glad I was completely wrong.
This movie has all the right elements that makes a great movie - great writing, great directing, great editing, great characters/acting, great everything. I was very pleasantly surprised at how great this movie is.
The writing is amazing. It is not just a car-racing movie, which in itself is absolutely incredible - amazing racing special effects, beautiful cars, stunts. It's a movie about love, determination, life.
I have seen many car racing movies. And this movie is the best one I've ever seen.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Reminds of the Original Star Wars vs New SW
Watching this final Indiana Jones movie reminded me of the comparison between the old original SW (Episodes IV, IV, VI) vs the newer SW. The old original SW and Indiana Jones movies were masterpieces The newer SW and Indian Jones movies were/are pure crap.
Everything is just boring as heck and completely drawn out.
I don't even know what else to say. I felt like this movie was written and directed by some idiots, but I know that this movie was written by some really excellent writers and directed by a good director. So I am not sure what the heck happened here.
Oh, shoot. I do know what happened. Disney happened! Disney will turn anything into crap.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Boring old news trapped in the past
I used to have respect for Nolan before I realized he doesn't embrace the change of times. It' very simple. You either embrace great changes, grow, and become better or you just become old news trapped in the past. And this is the case with Nolan.
While all the great directors like Scorsese, Coppola, Cameron, Kosinski, McQuarrie, etc. Are shooting their great movies in 4-6K resolution digital IMAX cameras and Dolby ATMOS and DTS:X sound, Nolan is still trapped in the past with his stupid analog films and plain DTS-HD MA.
And his story telling is just getting worse and worse and more boring. It's all part of the same symptoms of people who are just trapped in the past and can't learn to improve. You just can't teach some old dogs new tricks.
Simulant (2023)
I liked it a lot
It's not the first AI movie ever made. Not the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 30th. So it's not going to be original at all.
But judging it by itself, this movie is pretty good. It has the right formula.
It has good character development. It has a good setting. The climax and resolution are not that exciting, but they are there.
What would you do if you woke up and realized one day you were an AI? Happiness? Family. Purpose? It make sense. How you feel is real. Anger. Insecure. Frustration. All that.
Anyway, I really enjoy watching this unoriginal AI movie. It has look looking characters. Some good action. Good story. All there.
Great Expectations (2023)
One of the dumbest series of all times
They need to never hire the writers and directors of this series for making one of the worst TV series of all times .
How can anyone screw up a masterpiece novel that most of the world love so much? How on earth?
I know how - hire the dumbest writers and directors to do it. That's how.
Let's add stupid crap into the series.
Let's change all the characters around. Let's make Estella and Havisham ugly as hell. Let's make Pip dumb as hell and get him doing drugs and drinking alcohol. Let's add a bunch of F-bombs to the dialogue. OMG.
Let's just screw up everything as much as possible.
Hard to believe how anyone can possibly royally screw up a masterpiece novel.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Very Good, not the best
Avatar 2 - The Way of Water in 4K/ATMOS streaming.
PQ. Absolutely awesome. But everyone already knew that. This movie was shot using the Sony Venice 6.5K-Resolution IMAX digital camera with a production budget of almost $300 million.
SQ. I had to increase my master volume by about 8dB. After that the ATMOS soundtrack was very good. There were some good overhead sound effects, but I didn't think there were any incredible standout scenes. Bass seemed very good. Just very good overall, but not REFERENCE DEMO in my book. Absolutely nothing compared to "Moonfall".
So maybe Cameron or his team has something to learn here. Cameron is great with the video, but not as awesome with the ATMOS.
The movie/plot/writing: not as good as Avatar-1 IMO. Very basic story like everyone already said. It is a good movie IMO, but not THAT great. Nothing compared to "Edge of Tomorrow" IMO.
So, after seeing this movie and looking back, I don't see how this movie made $2.3 BILLIONS! :eek: :D
James Cameron must know some magic.
Box Office:
Titanic: $2.25 Billion
Avatar 1: $2.92 Billion
Avatar 2: $2.30 Billion.
Cocaine Bear (2023)
Surprisingly Great
The title of the movie made me think this was another dumb movie. I didn't even plan on watching it until I saw Elizabeth Banks and the Cocaine Bear at the Oscars.
This proves what a good writer can do for the movie. Time will tell if Elizabeth Banks is a great director. But if she continues to work with good writers and directs like this, she will become a great director.
This is a dark comedy. It's a monster movie about a bear and her 2 cubs who became addicted to cocaine thanks to the drug cartel who spilled cocaine on the park. It's meant to be darkly fun. Lots of blood and guts.
I am still kind of in shock at how good this movie is.
Wolf Pack (2023)
I didn't expect this series to be as good as it is
I've tried to watch the "Teen Wolf" TV series several times in the past. But I kept on turning it off because it was so stupid. I kept on thinking these writers must be idiot teenagers.
Then I recently saw the Teen Wolf movie. It was a piece of crap - every bit as stupid as the Teen Wolf TV series. Made for idiots or something.
So when I heard the "same people" were doing a new show spinoff of Teen Wolf, I thought for sure it would be just as dumb as the Teen Wolf series and movie.
But I decided to give it another shot. Maybe 3rd time's a charm. And I am glad I did. I mean there might have been 1 episode or 2 that were stupid - probably the same writers as Teen Wolf. But the rest of the episodes have been very good - like they were completely different writers. They have to be different writers because I actually think these episodes are really good.
So anyway, I am hooked.
Mayfair Witches (2023)
I think Mayfair Witches is fantastic
I think the Mayfair Witches series is very good. It's much better than the Interview with the Vampire series, which I think is completely stupid.
I definitely see Rowan's character development, although it seems a little bit rushed. They probably wanted to move things a long and not spend more time developing Rowan's character.
The writer of Mayfair Witches also wrote the "John Adams" and "The Pacific" series, which are also very good series. So they do have talented writers, unlike "Interview with the Vampire" which has dumb writers.
I will look forward to season two of Mayfair Witches. I hope they will bring back these writers. If not, then hopefully they will bring on other talented writers.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Bunch of fake reviews and ratings to give this movie more than a 6.0
Whoever wrote and did this movie should not be allowed to make another movie.
Black Panther 2 is pure crap from beginning to end to end. Even the ending after the credits was pure crap. Goodness gracious.
Boring beyond belief. No focus whatsoever. They basically made this movie just to say (again) that it was another "breakthrough" because it was mostly all Black and Hispanic American actors. Give it a rest already.
They tried to make this movie all "serious" by showing us 2 unnecessary boring pointless funerals that were supposed to be sad and heartbreaking, but they were just stupid.
Terrible plot, terrible writing. Just terrible.
To be fair, this movie isn't the worst movie. Wonder Woman 2 is much worse than this movie. But this movie should not be rated more than a 6.0.
Hwan Hon (2022)
The absolute best sorcerer fantasy series to date
Harry Potter has his wimpy little wand. Boring as hell. Gandalf has his little old wooden staff. Boring as hell. Alchemy of Souls have powerful sorcerers (male and female) who wield their weapons with magic. So instead of using sticks and stones, these mages use deadly swords, spears, knives, etc., as their magical weapons of choice.
Instead of boring us to death with talk, these mages kick serious ass with martial arts. Very exciting. Very addictive.
Take the best writers and directors like Joseph Kosinski and this Alchemy of Souls could be the absolute best sorcerer fantasy movie franchise in the world.